Erguotou Factory Tour: Hello and Good Baijiu (3)

（CRI Online）  08:47, February 06, 2013  

Next, visitors viewed one of the storage houses where thousands of chest-high clay and metal casks seemingly store enough baijiu to get the entire country drunk multiple times over. Samples of light and heavy fragrance baijiu were doled out, with some tasters flinching and coughing, while others proclaiming their appreciation for one or the other.

"People have to eat when they drink baijiu," chirped a China Culture Center guide, as she passed out handfuls of peanuts, the traditional snack. Some visitors anxiously snatched them up, happy to have anything to help get the burning, sweet baijiu taste out of their mouths.

Of course, the requisite final destination of the tour was the store where guests could choose from a broad array of Erguotou baijiu. Prices ranged from 4 yuan to 48,888 yuan, with some boxes definitely prettier than others.

"That baijiu's expensive because of the Chinese astrology animal on the bottle," said a store employee. "Last year was the dragon year, so we made dragon bottles to celebrate. This year is the snake year so we produced another special bottle.

"The taste of regular baijiu and expensive baijiu are totally different," she added, remembering her duty. "There's an old Chinese saying: The quality matches the price. "

Cheap or expensive, purchasers here could at least be assured their baijiu was authentic, as even Erguotou's cheapest liquors are faked by others. The visitors made their purchases (most of them as gifts, incidentally) before piling onto the bus once again. But now they were amply prepared to celebrate in Chinese style, if need be.

Tour organized by the China Culture Center
www.chinaculturecenter.org
Fee (including transportation): 180 yuan